States are using most of their National Housing Trust Fund (HTF) resources for projects that will serve people experiencing homelessness, individuals with disabilities, seniors, or other special-needs populations, according to a new interim report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC).
Forty-two states had awarded all or some of their inaugural 2016 HTF allocations at the time of the report, with eight states and the District of Columbia anticipating making allocations by the end of this year.
Overall, awards had been made to 129 projects, with almost 1,500 HTF-assisted units anticipated to be constructed or rehabilitated, according to Getting Started: First Homes Being Built with 2016 National Housing Trust Fund Awards.
The report finds that 443 HTF-assisted units are to serve homeless populations, 347 units will aim to serve people with disabilities, and more than 244 units are targeted to elderly people. In addition, nine projects with 88 HTF-assisted units are slated to serve veterans. Another seven projects with 46 HTF-assisted units are targeted to people re-entering the community from the criminal justice system. One project plans to have five units for people who have experienced domestic violence. It’s also noted that some developments intend to serve some combination of homeless and/or disabled people.
NLIHC also examines the use of other funding sources in HTF-assisted projects. The report finds that low-income housing tax credits are key in 88 projects, but there were 35 properties that were not dependent on the housing credits, according to the report. However, complete information was not available from all states.
The HTF is the first federal resource in a generation that provides block grants to states to build, rehabilitate, or preserve housing targeted to extremely low-income households, those with incomes at or less than 30% of the area median income or less than the federal poverty line.
The HTF was authorized in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, but resources did not become available until 2016 when the first $174 million was allocated to states. States began making awards in 2017, according to NLIHC, which advocated for the creation of the trust fund.
The HTF is funded by an annual assessment on the volume of business done by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. When the government-sponsored entities were placed in conservatorship in 2008, their obligations to the fund were suspended. Mel Watt, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, lifted the suspension in late 2014 and directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to begin setting aside money for the HTF in 2015.
Learn more about what the HTF is doing in Getting Started: First Homes Being Built With 2016 National Housing Trust Fund Awards.
